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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24775417">got the good side of new (found arms to fall right into)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/minimitchell/pseuds/minimitchell'>minimitchell</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EastEnders (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mild Sexual Content, Sexting, cafe worker!Callum, kind of, matchmaker!Kathy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:26:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,398</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24775417</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/minimitchell/pseuds/minimitchell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Callum stands up razor-straight, hoping to god that his cheeks don’t look as pink as they feel like on the inside and that his boss can’t somehow sense that he was just exchanging filthy text messages, while he was supposed to be working. <br/>Even if it was exactly what he was doing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>got the good side of new (found arms to fall right into)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>inspired by the the prompt: “My boss always tells me how great her son would be for me and she’s bringing him to the next holiday party ALSO there’s this guy i slept with once a couple of months ago and sometimes he still sends me dick pics at 3am when i ask for them because seriously dude’s got a nice dick“ (i changed it a bit)<br/>Thanks for reading. &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Callum likes his job. Seriously, he does. </p>
<p><br/>It’s not the most prestigious or ambitious job in the world, but it pays his rent. Besides, it’s only temporary until he can start his training as a paramedic.</p>
<p> <br/>His boss at the café, Kathy, had been a godsend, agreeing to give him the job on such short notice even without any prior experience. She had been hesitant at first, until Callum had explained that he had just recently moved here after his time in the army to be closer to the only family he had left, and that he desperately needed a job.</p>
<p> <br/>And she’s absolutely amazing. She’s what Callum always thought a mum would be like: kind-hearted, understanding, positive. She understood that he only needed this job to bridge the gap until his training course started and she was more than happy to help him. She always has a smile on her face and kind words on her tongue.</p>
<p><br/>His brother thinks they get along so well, because they’re so alike. <em>“Two long-suffering sunshine’s”</em>. Callum’s just happy that he found such a great job with an even better boss.</p>
<p><br/>The only thing he could do without is Kathy’s less than subtle attempts to help him with his love life.</p>
<p><br/>Ever since he let slip that he’s gay, she’s started talking about her son, who apparently was also gay. It would be borderline offensive, if she weren’t so damn nice about it. According to her, he lives a short distance away from the square, running his own business and ‘would fit with Callum like pot and kettle’.</p>
<p><br/>He doesn’t have the heart to tell her that being set up by his straight, middle-aged boss really is the worst thing he can think of. He knows she means well, but if he has learnt anything from his brother and his girlfriend trying to set him up on blind dates, it’s that straight people aren’t a great judge when it comes to finding blokes that are actually his type. <em>Callum’s</em> not even sure what his type is, if he even has one, but the guys they had chosen definitely weren’t it.</p>
<p><br/>So yeah, he would prefer it if she didn’t constantly harp on about her <em>oh so great</em> son. If he’s so great, why has Callum never seen him in here?</p>
<p><br/>There’s a lull after the daily lunch rush that Callum uses to pour over some of his course material, when his phone buzzes in his pocket. He’s smiling before he even reads the text, already having an idea as to who it could be.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>Ben: really missing your mouth, sexy</em>
</p>
<p><br/>Callum rolls his eyes at the flirty text, but it’s just a façade; he secretly revels in Ben’s attention.</p>
<p><br/>They had met in a bar a few weeks ago, an instant attraction on both parts. Ben had bought him a drink and then another and another, until Callum couldn’t resist the urge to kiss him any longer. They had eventually made it back to Callum’s flat, stopping a few times along the way to press each other up against the nearest wall, and what followed was almost a religious experience for Callum.</p>
<p><br/>He’s pretty sure he had the best sex of his life that night with Ben, both of them abandoning any pretenses about this only being a hookup early on and seemingly tipping straight into sex that could mean something more. Ben had stayed the night, had ate breakfast with Callum the next morning and had then proceeded to fuck him into the mattress. Even better, he had left Callum with a deep kiss and his phone number programmed into the contacts.</p>
<p><br/>Since then, they had hooked up a few more times and their text conversation has pretty much become incessant. And even though Callum is terrified to have a conversation about labelling their thing, no matter how much his taxonomy brain needs clarity, he knows Ben must feel at least a little bit like he does, after letting slip that he isn’t sleeping with other people anymore.</p>
<p><br/>Callum sighs and decides not to let Ben squirm any longer.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>‘Don’t. I’m at work.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>Ben: and i’m bored</em>
</p>
<p> <br/><em>‘You mean horny.’</em></p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>Ben: always for you x</em>
</p>
<p><br/>The little x at the end of the text sends a jolt of electricity down Callum’s spine. He knows Ben is probably just being sarcastic, face to face his remark would definitely be paired with one his trademark winks, but it still makes his heart beat a little faster.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>Ben: thinking about your fingers as well. how they drive me crazy. how talented you are with them</em>
</p>
<p> <br/>Callum bites his bottom lip, about to type out a reply, when the door to the café jingles as it opens.</p>
<p><br/>“God, traffic is a nightmare. That trip to the wholesaler should not have taken me this long. How was the lunch rush? Did you manage on your own?”</p>
<p><br/>Callum stands up razor-straight, hoping to god that his cheeks don’t look as pink as they feel like on the inside and that his <em>boss</em> can’t somehow sense that he was just exchanging filthy text messages while he was supposed to be working. Even if it was exactly what he was doing. He feels like it’s written all over his face.</p>
<p><br/>“Y-yeah all good. Everything was… good.”</p>
<p><br/>Kathy only spares him a glance before she shrugs off her coat and places her purse behind the counter. She runs a hand over his shoulder as she passes him, putting on her apron in the process.</p>
<p><br/>“Go take a break, Callum. It’s dead right now anyway.”</p>
<p><br/>He gives her a quiet thanks, before grabbing a sandwich from the display and sitting down at a table near the back. He’s contemplating whether to indulge Ben for a bit or not, when his phone chimes with another message.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>Ben: and your tongue! what you did the other night makes me hard just thinking about it</em>
</p>
<p><br/>Callum steels himself, lifting his gaze quickly to check that Kathy isn’t looking at him. Thankfully, she’s pottering around behind the counter, not sparing him another glance.</p>
<p> <br/>Callum feels dirty, so very dirty, to even consider sexting with his whatever Ben is to him at his place of work, but he can’t help the way Ben makes him feel. Just thinking about the man leaves Callum yearning for more. For one more touch. For one more incredible high caused by Ben’s mouth, hands or tongue on him.</p>
<p> <br/><em>‘Are you hard for me right now?’</em></p>
<p><br/>Callum blushes even as he hits send on the text. He’s not sure what possesses him to do it, this is so unlike him, but maybe everyone in his life is right and he does need to live a little. Although he’s not sure that this is what his family had in mind when they told him that.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>Ben: i knew there was a naughty boy under all the niceness</em>
</p>
<p><br/>The next message he receives is a photo and Callum almost drops his phone when it’s downloaded completely. Instead of Ben confirming his question with words, Callum’s currently staring at a picture of Ben’s dick, pulled out of what looks like suit trousers and completely hard. Callum doesn’t know how to respond; there’s heat crawling up into every corner of his body and he feels like he’s going to combust right here on the spot any moment now, but he just can’t stop looking at the picture, something primal taking over.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>‘Touch yourself.’</em>
  <br/>
  <em>‘I want you to touch yourself and think of me.’</em>
</p>
<p><br/>Callum’s never been so explicit over text before. He always just indulges Ben’s flirting, but never lets it go too far, prefers to let these thoughts out when it’s just the two of them. Face to face. In the safety of Callum’s bedroom. But he’s feeling brave right now, actions fueled by one tiny consonant that Ben has never send him before.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>Ben: god i love it when you’re all authoritative. tell me what you wanna do to me</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <em>‘I wanna make you beg. Wanna have you scream my name. I wanna kiss you all over, mark you, make sure everyone knows you’re mine. I want you to feel me for days when I’m done with you.’</em>
</p>
<p><br/>Callum doesn’t think when he answers, brain completely on autopilot. He doesn’t even check the message back for spelling like he usually does.</p>
<p> <br/>He doesn’t think anything of it when Ben doesn’t message him back immediately. Callum reckons he has more <em>pressing</em> matters to deal with. But when he sits idle for a few minutes, finally not too keyed up anymore to eat his sandwich, and waits for a response that doesn’t come, he starts getting agitated.</p>
<p><br/>When he takes a moment to read his text back, he has to stop himself from hitting his head against the table. It reads as way too possessive over someone, who’s not even close to being his boyfriend. He feels like an utter idiot for getting so into it that he just completely let his fingers run free.</p>
<p><br/>God, Ben must think he’s clingy now. He probably hasn’t responded yet, because he’s so turned off by Callum’s behavior. And he’s surely already thinking off a way to let Callum down easy, to tell him that it’s a bad idea to continue seeing each other.</p>
<p><br/>He’s interrupted from his internal self-loathing by the loud ringing of Kathy’s phone, his boss meeting his gaze immediately and signaling for him to come cover for her, while she answers her phone. He throws the rest of the sandwich away, he doesn’t have much off an appetite anymore, and goes to take care of a new customer, his phone burning a hole in his pocket.</p>
<p><br/>“-no worries, sweetheart. I’ll get her and you can come pick her up here later. It’s no bother at all. Love you.”</p>
<p><br/>He only catches the backend of the conversation as Kathy emerges from the tiny kitchen, but judging from her apologetic face it doesn’t look like it’s good news.</p>
<p><br/>“Callum, I’m so sorry. That was my son, he needs someone to pick up his daughter from school because he has a meeting at work soon. I feel really bad for leaving you on your own again, but I’ll just be a minute, I promise.”</p>
<p><br/>Callum almost automatically rolls his eyes at the mention of her son, but immediately feels bad once he catches himself. He shouldn’t take his bad mood out on her or her son, who he doesn’t even know, just because he fucked up with Ben.</p>
<p><br/>“No, no it’s fine. I’ll manage. You just go.”</p>
<p><br/>She presses a grateful kiss to his cheek, before grabbing her purse and making a swift exit. </p>
<p><br/>He’s fairly busy for the next thirty minutes with a steady drip of customers coming and going. It lifts his mood quite a bit to be completely honest. He always likes chatting with the older women getting their afternoon tea or talking football with the business men popping in for a sandwich, but it isn’t enough to keep him from checking his phone again and again. Ben still hasn’t answered and Callum just feels embarrassed looking back on their conversation now. He wishes he could take it all back, but it’s definitely too late for that now.</p>
<p><br/>When the door to the café opens the next time, there’s a small, excited voice filtering through. The owner of the voice turns out to be a little girl with unruly blonde hair, still dressed in her blue school uniform. One of her hands is being held by Kathy, who’s following the girl into the room from behind her. She ushers the girl to one of the booths in the back, before making her way back to the counter.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh Callum, thank you again for holding the fort. My son will be here in a minute and then you can go home early, you’ve earned it today.”</p>
<p><br/>Callum just gives her a small smile. She really is too nice for the world. Maybe he <em>should</em> listen to her and ask her son for his number, when he arrives. Now that he has clearly blown his chances with Ben, he could definitely do with a distraction. And if her son is anything like her then that’s more than good enough for Callum.</p>
<p><br/>“It’s nothing, really. Want me to make her something to drink?”</p>
<p><br/>“If you could get her some juice and a bun, that would be wonderful. Really, Callum, you’re such an angel.”</p>
<p><br/>Callum does as he’s told, setting the plate and the glass down in front of the small girl. He makes his way back to his stuff perched on the counter, ripping a couple of blank pieces of paper from his notebook, before returning to her again with the papers for her to draw on, the awed little thank you she gives him in return warming him to the core.</p>
<p><br/>The bell above the door jiggles while he’s still standing near the girl, a frantic voice already carrying in from the outside.</p>
<p><br/>“Seriously, thank you so much, mum. Lola had an appointment at the salon and I scheduled that meeting for the wrong day. I swear you’re a lifesaver.”</p>
<p><br/>Callum freezes on the spot. He knows that voice. That voice has said filthy things into his ear, has moaned into his sheets, has told him personal things about himself that Callum still cherishes. His hunch is confirmed, when the man steps fully into the café, coming to a stop in front of the counter. Ben, <em>his Ben</em>, is Kathy’s son. Is the one she always said would be perfect for him.</p>
<p><br/>Is apparently a father.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey.”</p>
<p><br/>Callum doesn’t know what makes him speak up, doesn’t even register doing it for a second, until Ben turns around and takes note of him. His mouth drops open in surprise, confirming Callum’s thought that Ben had no idea about the connection through Kathy either.</p>
<p><br/>“Hi?”</p>
<p><br/>Ben looks like he’s about to say something else when Kathy steps out from behind the counter, toweling off her hands, and comes to stand beside her son.</p>
<p><br/>“Oh, Callum, this is my son Ben. I think I mentioned him before. Ben, this is Callum.”</p>
<p><br/>They forego an introductory handshake in favor of simply staring at each other, not quite believing that they are standing in front the other right now. It makes sense, Callum had never specified where he worked and Ben had never mentioned his mum by name. But what he had also never mentioned before was having a daughter.</p>
<p><br/>“Daddy!”</p>
<p><br/>The little girl in question jumps out of her seat at the commotion, running straight past Callum into the waiting arms of her dad. Seeing Ben and her together with his own eyes really hammers home the fact that Ben is a father. A completely devoted father by the look of it.</p>
<p><br/>He decides to give the family some space. His head is spinning from all those new realizations and he needs a moment to process everything. If things really are over between them then Callum doesn’t know if he can continue working here for the time being, what with this place being a constant reminder of Ben and everything they had. Everything they could’ve had.</p>
<p><br/>Callum watches Ben press a kiss to the crown of his daughter’s blonde hair from his place behind the register. He says something to her that’s too low for Callum to catch even in the quiet of the café, before he makes his way to the counter, to Callum, leaving Kathy to sit down beside the girl to help her color.</p>
<p><br/>“Hey. Again.”</p>
<p><br/>Ben has a nervous look on him, like he’s bracing himself for rejection or whatever is about to happen, and Callum gets the desperate need to show him that he’s not going to cast Ben aside, if that’s what he fears, just because he’s learned something about him today that he didn’t expect. That is, if Ben even still wants him.</p>
<p><br/>Callum has never really thought about dating a guy who has a child before, hasn’t really thought much about having kids himself at all, but he really likes Ben and from what he has seen in the last few minutes, his daughter is just as lovely as him.</p>
<p><br/>So Callum chooses to give him a warm smile in return, hoping to ease some of the tension Ben carries in him.</p>
<p><br/>“Can I get you anything?”</p>
<p><br/>Ben reaches out a tentative hand to stop Callum from moving away in the most gentle, careful way he knows. It shoots a lightning bolt of warmth through his body, like it does every time Ben touches him.</p>
<p><br/>“I’m sorry, for not telling you about her and that you had to find out like this.”</p>
<p><br/>“Why <em>didn’t</em> you tell me about her? I know we ain’t together or anything, but you’ve told me other stuff before.”</p>
<p><br/>It keeps niggling in the back of his mind why Ben didn’t tell him about her before. Doesn’t he trust Callum with this kind of basic information? Did he think that Callum wouldn’t want to see him again just because he has a kid?</p>
<p> <br/>Sure, they aren’t anything serious, but Callum knows that there is something there. Something, that shines through when they’re together; not just having sex but getting to know each other. Something, that has the potential to be incredible. </p>
<p><br/>“It’s not exactly a good selling point, is it. Most blokes aren’t into getting involved with someone, who has a kid. Lexi’s the most important thing in my life, not everyone accepts that. I guess… I just didn’t want you to break it off.”</p>
<p><br/>He says it with a little shrug and Callum hates how small he looks in this moment. Like he’s had this conversation with too many men before to believe in any other possible outcome.</p>
<p> <br/>Callum’s not exactly good at articulating his feelings, especially the ones where he isn’t sure that they’re reciprocated, but he wants to show Ben that he’s not like those other men. That he’s willing to understand, to get to know his daughter, if Ben wants to give them the chance to be something more.</p>
<p><br/>“You know, I was kinda hoping that we could work towards me being another part of your life. Maybe of hers as well at some point. If you want to, that is.”</p>
<p><br/>The smile he gets from Ben in return is nothing short of blinding. Just seeing it fills his stomach with more than just butterflies; like a swarm of bees has nestled into every part of his body, right down to the tips of his fingers and his toes.</p>
<p> <br/>“I was really worried you thought I was blanking you earlier after what you texted. But the school called before I had the chance to respond and then I had to call my mom and- I guess what I’m saying is that I really want that, too.”</p>
<p><br/>Callum matches the smile on Ben’s face, looks into the soft blue of his eyes and thanks <em>fate</em> or whatever that they were brought together here this afternoon. An hour ago, he thought he’d lost his chance at some real happiness with this man in front of him and now he’s staring at a possible future with him and his whole family. Callum can’t really put this feeling inside of him into words, but bliss is probably not too far off.</p>
<p><br/>“Go take care of your daughter. And maybe later we can talk about me becoming an <em>exclusive</em> part of your life, yeah?”</p>
<p><br/>Ben nods slightly, but he’s making no moves to leave his place in front of Callum. Instead, he keeps looking at him as if he can’t believe his luck.</p>
<p><br/>Callum is right there with him.</p>
<p><br/>“Come ‘round later? We can, uh, also talk more about what you said in your last text.”</p>
<p><br/>Ben bites his bottom lip, lifting up one of his eyebrows suggestively and Callum just can’t hold back anymore. Mindful of Kathy and Ben’s daughter being nearby, Callum leans forward to press a chaste kiss onto Ben’s lips, nipping at his lip when he pulls back again. Ben has that same twinkle in his eye that he had the night they met; like this could be the start of something big.</p>
<p><br/>Turns out, it was only the best thing of their lives.</p>
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